New World screwworm is not a food safety concern

Now that the New World screwworm has been found in the U.S. we in the ag industry need to remind people that it is not a food safety issue.

It is also not a disease but an infestation.

As Dudley Hoskins, U.S. under secretary of agriculture for marketing and regulatory programs, said “The screwworm is not contagious. It does not spread directly from animals to people or from person to person. And the screwworm does not pose a food safety risk. It spreads only when a screwworm fly lays eggs in a wound, not through meat, poultry or dairy products. However, [it] is a serious concern because of the potential disruption it could cause to the U.S. livestock industry if a detection is not quickly identified and treated.”

This is important because the groups that are against animal agriculture will try to make this into something it is not.

I have already received an email regarding the New World screwworm from Ben Williamson, executive director, Animal Outlook, basically blaming livestock producers and some of their practices.

“The open wounds left by dehorning, branding, castration, and ear-tagging are an appetizing target for parasites to burrow in and consume their host from the inside out. It’s telling that the USDA is now advising against such surgical procedures in infested areas. These routine practices, performed without adequate pain relief for our convenience rather than animal health or welfare, are suddenly recognized as dangerous when parasites arrive,” Williamson wrote. If these painful mutilations can be suspended during outbreaks, why are we performing them at all? Headlines will undoubtedly focus on the impact to ranchers, the economy, and beef prices. But spare a thought for the animals themselves and the enormous amount of suffering headed their way. This crisis is a moral test. Farmed animals feel pain just as intensely as we do. They deserve better than a system designed to guarantee their suffering.”

This type of response is not helping but it is typical of these animal activists organizations. We need to be tell people who are not familiar with animal husbandry that it is science-based and done for the welfare of the animals.

It is also up to all of us to remind people about why that this infestation is not new. It occurred 60 years ago and was successfully eradicated. And, with the protocols put into place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture it will be eradicated once again.

In a statement released by USDA:

USDA and Texas officials are taking immediate action to contain and eradicate NWS from the United States, following the strategies and actions outlined in the NWS Response Playbook. This includes: 

• Forming a unified Incident Command Team with the Texas Animal Health Commission and deploying response personnel to the area;
• Establishing a 20 km infested zone around the detection and implementing quarantines, movement controls, and surveillance in this area;
• Expediting targeted release of sterile NWS flies by immediately deploying ground release chambers in the area, in addition to the 4 million sterile flies per week already being released aerially in the area; 
• Increasing trapping for NWS flies along the border and just outside of the dispersal area;
• Implementing NWS surveillance and management strategies in wildlife; and
• Conducting targeted outreach in the local area.

So let’s be vigilant and keep reminding consumers their is no threat to food safety and that every effort is being taken to eradicate this pest.